In the operation of a server, external management of systems may provide convenient and powerful management operations. In general, an external client connects to the server through an interface and manages the system through such interface, including starting and stopping the system and monitoring activity of the system as needed.
However, the external management of any system requires consideration of security risk. The use of external management implies that an external client will have control of a system, and authentication procedures are required to provide sufficient assurance that the client is authorized to manage the system.
A system is in risk of compromise if the interface between the server and the client does not provide a sufficient level of security and authentication of identity. This level of security provided by an interface will depend in part on the technology that is used to establish and operate the interface. If the security of the interface is not sufficient for the processes in question, other security measures may be needed to ensure that the system is protected and that control of the system is not compromised.